


Going Stag

by startabby



Series: The Big Short Stories [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Azkaban Escape, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-03
Updated: 2017-10-03
Packaged: 2019-01-08 10:51:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12252861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/startabby/pseuds/startabby
Summary: One-shot. What if instead of Sirius, James Potter was the eponymous Prisoner of Azkaban? How might his escape go?The Big Short Challenge Prompt: Escape





	Going Stag

**Author's Note:**

> This was a snippet that I originally wrote as part of my follow up to 'One Fateful Night', which is currently languishing in my drafts folder.  
> In that universe, I rotated the roles of the various characters, such that James is slotted into Sirius' canon role and Harry is the son of Lily and Severus.  
> I modified it slightly to fit the prompt for the Big Short Challenge on Rough Trade (http://www.roughtrade.org/)'s forum, which called for a 500-1000 word story given a one word prompt.

 

* * *

 

Before he had discovered the truth about Harry and the traitor at Hogwarts, James Potter had thought, off and on, about how he might escape from Azkaban. Early in his imprisonment James had discovered dual benefits to his animagus form. As Prongs he was unaffected by the Dementors’ aura and his horns could be used to remove the mortar that held the stones of the prison together.

In fact, James had long ago loosened the mortar around his window such that he could literally swing the barred window in and out of place. However, it was well known that cells in Azkaban were for protection rather than containment.

Beyond the prison blocks, Dementors patrolled the entire island of Azkaban. During these patrols, they were authorized to give the Kiss to anyone outside a cell not bearing one of the Ministry’s Dementor repellent pendants. The pendants could only be presented at DMLE headquarters, so stealing one that a guard was wearing was not an option.

Instead, James needed to avoid encountering a Dementor. At first he tried to identify a patrol schedule, but that proved impossible. Next, James tried sneaking out to see how long it took a Dementor to find him. At first, he was driven back to his cell pretty quickly; but soon he realized something interesting. He could cover more ground as Prongs, so he decided to make an attempt while in that form.  When he encountered a Dementor unexpectedly, to his surprise not only did he not feel the aura but the creature ignored him.

As soon as the Dementor was out of sight, James returned to his cell and shifted back. “Merlin’s balls,” he gasped, “what just happened?”

Once he caught his breath, James began to think. He realized, “of course, Dementors are only attracted to human souls. I guess animagus forms are different enough for them to not recognize us as human.”

This had possibilities.

Over the next few weeks, James prepared to escape. The North Sea was far too cold to swim in his weakened condition, even as Prongs. So he needed a raft. After the human guards made their daily rounds, James ran as Prongs to a hidden coastal cave. There he built a driftwood raft while keeping an ‘eye’ out for the Dementors to shift back as needed.

As he worked, James was reminded of a Muggle book that Severus had loaned to him called ‘The Count of Monte Cristo.’ In the book, two prisoners were planning an escape and the one remarked to the other that the guards’ ‘neglect becomes our ally’. The same was true in Azkaban, or rather the belief in the Dementors’ infallibility.

Finally, the day of escape had arrived. It was the full moon, and the growls of werewolf prisoners meant that the guards would stay in their barracks and deliver the daily meal late. James checked the window for nearby Dementors, and seeing none, swung the window open and climbed out. He shut it behind him to delay discovery, having previously molded his bedding to look like a sleeping body.

Shifting into Prongs, James kept watch for any guards as he made his way to his cave and pulled out the completed raft while staying in his animagus form. He would launch in the darkness between sunset and moonrise.

Darkness fell, and James launched his raft; battling the surf until it ceased to pull him towards the island’s shore. Then he let it drift, saving his limited energy for landing. Eventually his makeshift raft began falling apart, which forced him to be more proactive in his efforts. James ended up swimming the last hundred meters and washed up on the shore gasping for air. The moon was high overhead, reminding him of running with Remus and the others.

Sheer relief and euphoria at the absence of the Dementors’ aura left him collapsed on the beach for a while. ‘I made it,’ he thought, then reconsidered.

“Now don’t get cocky, James, keep to the plan.” After so many years in Azkaban he tended to mutter to himself.

The next stage of his escape plan was dodging hunters. Here, once again, James would use his animagus form. Leaving tracks on the beach was unavoidable, so he stayed in human form until he reached running water; a stream. James stepped into the stream and transformed, then Prongs followed it inland until he encountered a game trail through the underbrush. At that point he exited the stream, which allowed his hoof prints to merge with all the other animal tracks present.

Prongs followed the trail to a meadow where a small herd of deer were grazing. Joining the heard Prongs did the same. The rest of the night was spent in peace in the wilderness, as Prongs moved with the herd in their normal routine.

The next day the peace of the forest was disturbed by a loud alarm from the direction of Azkaban Island. Prongs brought his head up, along with the rest of the herd. ‘Took them long enough,’ he thought, snorting. ‘Now, let’s see if the idiots figure out any of my plan.’

Over the next several days, Prongs and the herd were frequently disrupted by wizards and witches on brooms flying overhead. However, none ever approached them. Clearly the searchers were unaware of James’ animagus form, or didn’t think that he might be hiding using it. As a large buck, Prongs nudged the herd to migrate away from the coast until finally the daily broom sightings ceased and James was comfortable enough to return to human form on occasion.

Eventually, the herd reached the south east edge of the forest.

“Okay, James,” he joked after transforming back to human form. “You’ve just escaped from an ‘escape-proof’ magical prison and are officially on the run from the law. What are you going to do next?”


End file.
